PAUL GARNER The classic hemp and caster

The marriage of hemp and caster is one made in fishing heaven!

AFTER three months away, I’m really looking forward to getting back on the rivers. My target will be a decent net of chub and barbel.

Bait choice will be easy. Whether I’m in a swim best suited to the float or feeder, hemp and caster will be on the menu. It’s a classic river combination that will catch fish no matter what the conditions.

ON THE FEEDER

With a feeder, bait is released on the bottom, directly above the hookbait. Recasting regularly will build up the swim. Even if I’m not catching I’ll recast every 10 minutes to keep a trail of feed washing downstream. Ensure the holes in the feeder are large enough to let the casters out. It should be empty when you wind it in. If it isn’t, carefully enlarge the holes with scissors.

Two or three casters on a size 14 hook is my starting point, but if the baits are being shelled by small fish it’s worth swapping to artificial casters.

FLOATFISHING

When fishing a float, the hookbait is constantly on the move, exactly the same as most of the feed which, being quite light, will be washed downstream for some distance.

Fish have only a split-second to decide whether to take it. More often than not the float will drag lazily under as a fish intercepts the bait, quite unaware of what’s going on.

Casters take twice as long to hit bottom as hemp, so I feed hemp directly in front of me and catapult casters two rodlengths upstream. If I’m using a bait dropper I prefer to feed the hemp a bit further downstream.